Textron Innovations Inc.

Bradley Joseph Passe

Frank B Stamps

Michael Reaugh Smith

George Matthew Thompson

Kip Gregory Campbell

Nicholas Ralph Carlson

A compound helicopter includes a fuselage including a fuselage airframe, a translational thrust system coupled to the fuselage airframe and a pylon assembly subject to vibration. The pylon assembly includes a transmission and a rotor system having a main rotor assembly. The compound helicopter also includes a main rotor vibration isolation system including a plurality of augmented liquid inertia vibration eliminator units each having an isolation frequency and each coupled between the fuselage airframe and the pylon assembly to reduce transmission of the pylon assembly vibration to the fuselage airframe at the isolation frequency. Each augmented liquid inertia vibration eliminator unit includes at least one active tuning element movable to tune the isolation frequency thereof.

Vibration isolation systems for compound helicopters

An aircraft includes a fuselage, a pylon, a wing positioned between the fuselage and the pylon, and a plurality of drive shafts located inside the wing and adapted to drive a rotor associated with the pylon.

High-speed VTOL drive-shaft systems and methods

A proprotor system for a ducted aircraft convertible between a vertical takeoff and landing flight mode and a forward flight mode includes a plurality of proprotor blades and a duct surrounding the proprotor blades. The duct includes an adaptive geometry device movable into various positions including a hover position and a cruise position. One or more actuators coupled to the adaptive geometry device are configured to move the adaptive geometry device between the hover position and the cruise position based on the flight mode of the ducted aircraft, thereby improving flight performance of the ducted aircraft.

Growing community of inventors

Irving, TX, United States of America

Bradley Joseph Passe